Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) is a leading manufacturer of 3-axis electronic compass using Hall element technology. We have the leading market share in the global 3-axis electronic compass for consumer applications and play a pivotal role in expanding the use of the electronic compass.

AKM electronic compass uses magnetic sensors (Hall element) with wide dynamic range and ideal linearity. The silicon monolithic structure achieves high accuracy and reliability, and it is optimized for high-volume manufacturing. Based on this technology, AKM's electronic compass can detect azimuth direction with a very high accuracy. In addition, with small and thin packaging, AKM’s electronic compass is widely used in products with limited mounting space, such as Smartphones.
AKM, with its extensive knowledge of electronic compass, is the ideal partner if you are considering to implement a “pedestrian navigation with GPS” on a cell phone, mobile tablet or mobile PC.

We provide not only hardware, but also DOE™ compensation software (winning "the Imperial Invention Award of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation" FY 2012), in addition to other software applications that enhance the user experience with our electronic compass.
The combination of hardware, software and technical support is an advantageous characteristic of the AKM electronic compass.

We will continue to provide the best solution through development of the compact, low-voltage and high-performance electronic compass and advanced software to our customers in the future.

Lineup

AK09917DAKM releases a 3-axis Electronic Compass with the new I3C interface; the AK09917D is available now

● AK09917D adopted the I3C interface compatible with high-speed communication. Reducing the data acquisition time of the MCU reduces the power consumption of the entire system. Furthermore, while maintaining the high performance of AK09915D, the package size has been reduced to the same size of AK09916C.
AK09917D will contribute to the needs such as low power consumption of the system and reduction of the mounting area.

● The Electronic Compass with FIFO Buffer

The AK09915C has a 32-step FIFO buffer, which minimizes the load on the host processor reducing the number of interrupts by the electronic compass with FIFO. For example, system power consumption can be reduced using FIFO when executing a data logging that does not need a real-time response.

● Support 200Hz Output Data Rate (ODR)

●Low-Power Consumption Mode/Low-Noise Mode

The AK09915C has two drive modes: low-power and low-noise drive modes. In low-power mode, the consumption current can be suppressed by 10% compared with the AK09912C. In low-noise mode, measured noise will be reduced to half of that compared to the previous AK09912C. Additional noise reduction is available with a Noise Suppression Filter (NSF).

The AK09915C inherits advanced characteristics from AKM’s established hall elements technology, like a wide measurement range. This wider measurement range makes the compass less sensitive to magnetic interference from other parts within the portable device, providing greater freedom in device design by enabling more flexibility in the placement of the compass on the printed circuit board.

Software

Software for Android

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How to calibrate the electronic compass

When you are using compass application on a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone), have you ever seen the message such as "Interference from a magnetic field. Re-calibrate by waving the phone in a figure 8 motion"? This message is displayed when the phone moves into a magnetic field, and the electronic compass suffers interference from the field. When this occurs, the electronic compass can't detect the azimuth direction at a high accuracy without a re-calibration.

We don't neet to manually re-calibrate, because the AKM electronic compass has an auto-calibration routine by software. However, the method of "waving the cell phone in a figure 8 motion" is quick and effective method to re-calibration. But, you don't know how to move the phone in "a figure 8 motion", don't you ? So, we have created a web-site that explains in detail how to calibrate the electronic compass.

You can easily learn about how to calibrate while watching the video in this web-site.Come web-site to see it for yourself.